Chronic Disease

Data shows children in Merced County are three times more likely to be obese than the average California kid.

The region is the go-to place for helicopter reporting on poverty. But we wanted to provide more than snapshots and to tell stories that also show the resilience and innovation arising from this region.

An inaccurate census would deprive vulnerable communities of vital public and private resources, writes civil rights advocate LaGloria Wheatfall.

For years, the New River has been plagued by toxic pollutants and raw sewage spills. In 2016, two Desert Sun journalists set out to discover why.

While personal belief exemptions from vaccines were banned in California, the state saw a subsequent rise in medical exemptions. The law's language is partly to blame, a new study says.

CapRadio’s health reporter Sammy Caiola spent six months exploring the reasons behind the high suicide rate in rural Amador County. She shares how community engagement aided her reporting.

Last February, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Two weeks later, it was removed by an incredibly skilled surgical team at UCSF. The surgery was the easy part.

Health workers and a younger generation help Hmong elders overcome a devastating past in one Northern California community.

Obesity is a major problem in Merced County, especially for children. So why is the local school district’s menu full of unhealthy items such as hot dogs and breakfast pizza?

Joe Rubin is a Sacramento-based investigative reporter and a fellow with USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism. His reporting on workplace exposures to lead in California has appeared in Capital & Main.